Association of Initial SARS-CoV-2 Test Positivity With Patient-Reported Well-being 3 Months After a Symptomatic Illness
Authors: Lauren E. Wisk, Michael A. Gottlieb, Erica S. Spatz, Huihui Yu, Ralph C. Wang, Benjamin H. Slovis, Sharon Saydah, Ian D. Plumb, Kelli N. O’Laughlin, Juan Carlos C. Montoy, Samuel A. McDonald, Zhenqiu Lin, Jin-Mann S. Lin, Katherine Koo, Ahamed H. Idris, Ryan M. Huebinger, Mandy J. Hill, Nicole L. Gentile, Anna Marie Chang, Jill Anderson, Bala Hota, Arjun K. Venkatesh, Robert A. Weinstein, Joann G. Elmore, Graham Nichol, Michelle Santangelo, Andrew Ulrich, Shu-Xia Li, Jeremiah Kinsman, Harlan Krumholz, Jocelyn Dorney, Kari A Stephens, Kari Black, Dana Morse, Sophie Morse, Anoushka Fernandes, Abhishek Sharma, Tracy Stober, Rachel E Geyer, Victoria Lyon, Karen Adams, Michael Willis, Luis Ruiz, Jasmine Park, Kerry Malone, Hailey Shughart, Kevin W Schaeffer, Lindsey A Shughart, Abir I Arab, Dylan T Grau, Ashini Patel, Phillip B Watts, Morgan Kelly, Alaina Hunt, Paavali Hannikainen, Melanie Chalfin, David Cheng, Jessica Miao, Carly Shutty, Summer Chavez, Arun Kane, Prasen Marella, Guillermo D Gallegos, Katherine R Martin, Michelle L'Hommedieu, Christopher W Chandler, Kate Diaz Roldan, Nicole Villegas, Raul Moreno, Megan Eguchi, Robert Rodriguez, Robin Kemball, Virginia Chan, Cecilia L Chavez, Angela Wong, Aron J Hall, Melissa Briggs-Hagen
Journal: JAMA Network Open (2022)

Importance Long-term sequelae after symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection may impact well-being, yet existing data primarily focus on discrete symptoms and/or health care use. Objective To compare patient-reported outcomes of physical, mental, and social well-being among adults with symptomatic illness who received a positive vs negative test result for SARS-CoV-2 infection. Design, Setting, and Participants This cohort study was a planned interim analysis of an ongoing multicenter prospective longitudinal registry study (the Innovative Support for Patients With SARS-CoV-2 Infections Registry [INSPIRE]). Participants were enrolled from December 11, 2020, to September 10, 2021, and comprised adults (aged ≥18 years) with acute symptoms suggestive of SARS-CoV-2 infection at the time of receipt of a SARS-CoV-2 test approved by the US Food and Drug Administration. The analysis included the first 1000 participants who completed baseline and 3-month follow-up surveys consisting of questions from the 29-item Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS-29; 7 subscales, including physical function, anxiety, depression, fatigue, social participation, sleep disturbance, and pain interference) and the PROMIS Short Form–Cognitive Function 8a scale, for which population-normed T scores were reported. Exposures SARS-CoV-2 status (positive or negative test result) at enrollment. Main Outcomes and Measures Mean PROMIS scores for participants with positive COVID-19 tests vs negative COVID-19 tests were compared descriptively and using multivariable regression analysis. Results Among 1000 participants, 722 (72.2%) received a positive COVID-19 result and 278 (27.8%) received a negative result; 406 of 998 participants (40.7%) were aged 18 to 34 years, 644 of 972 (66.3%) were female, 833 of 984 (84.7%) were non-Hispanic, and 685 of 974 (70.3%) were White. A total of 282 of 712 participants (39.6%) in the COVID-19–positive group and 147 of 275 participants (53.5%) in the COVID-19–negative group reported persistently poor physical, mental, or social well-being at 3-month follow-up. After adjustment, improvements in well-being were statistically and clinically greater for participants in the COVID-19–positive group vs the COVID-19–negative group only for social participation (β = 3.32; 95% CI, 1.84-4.80; P &amp;amp;lt; .001); changes in other well-being domains were not clinically different between groups. Improvements in well-being in the COVID-19–positive group were concentrated among participants aged 18 to 34 years (eg, social participation: β = 3.90; 95% CI, 1.75-6.05; P &amp;amp;lt; .001) and those who presented for COVID-19 testing in an ambulatory setting (eg, social participation: β = 4.16; 95% CI, 2.12-6.20; P &amp;amp;lt; .001). Conclusions and Relevance In this study, participants in both the COVID-19–positive and COVID-19–negative groups reported persistently poor physical, mental, or social well-being at 3-month follow-up. Although some individuals had clinically meaningful improvements over time, many reported moderate to severe impairments in well-being 3 months later. These results highlight the importance of including a control group of participants with negative COVID-19 results for comparison when examining the sequelae of COVID-19.